No. 43: Spicy Wontons at A & J Restaurant

​Welcome to the Weekly's list of our 100 Favorite Dishes for 2011! Tune in every day until we get to número uno! Now, on to the latest entry. . . .

Let's cut to the chase. The wontons are good--dollops of juicy pork wrapped in thin, slithery skins and steamed to chewy perfection--but it's the chili oil they wade in that makes this Sichuan side dish one to crave deeply. (I've been known to drive to here alone, ask for two orders of spicy wontons and nothing else, and call it dinner.)

Tangy with a hint of sweetness and a heat that doesn't overpower, the glistening orange sauce is magic, unmatched by any other Taiwanese deli in town, possibly in all of SoCal. After you scarf up the wontons, you'll wanna dip everything else into the stuff, too--scallion pancakes, fried pork chops, beef buns . . . go for it.